Latest news with #JeremyBarnum
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
You're Doing 'Fine'—Here's What Big Bank Execs Said About Consumers This Week
The American consumer? They're doing 'fine.' That's the take at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), one of several large U.S. financial institutions to report results in recent days. (Here are links to Investopedia's coverage of JPMorgan's earnings, along with reports on Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.) Consumers 'remained resilient, with healthy spending and asset quality,' Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan said in a press release. Inflation data for June, released this week, indicated an uptick, while retail sales numbers for last month are due to be released Thursday. Bank earnings are watched not only by those who care about the health of a bank's business, but also for data and commentary on the state of the economy. Here's a selection of comments from bank executives from conference calls made available by AlphaSense, lightly edited for readability. JP Morgan Chase CFO Jeremy Barnum: 'The consumer basically seems to be fine.' 'If you look at indicators of stress, not surprisingly, you see a little bit more stress in the lower income bands than you see in the higher income bands, but that's always true. That's pretty much definitionally true. And nothing there is out of line with our expectations. Our delinquency rates are also in line with expectations. You saw that we kept our net charge-off guidance unchanged. So, all of that looks kind of fine. 'And to be honest, as we've said before, fundamentally, while there are nuances around the edges, consumer credit is primarily about the labor market. And in a world with a 4.1% unemployment rate, it's just going to be hard, especially in our portfolio, to see a lot of weakness.' Citigroup (C) CEO Jane Fraser: 'The strength of the U.S. economy, driven by the American entrepreneur and a healthy consumer, has certainly been exceeding expectations of late. As I've been speaking to CEOs, I've yet again been impressed by the adaptability of our private sector, aided by the depth and breadth of the American capital markets.' Wells Fargo (WFC) CEO Charlie Scharf, from the company's call: 'As we look ahead, what we see regarding the health of our clients and customers has not changed. Consumers and businesses remain strong as unemployment remains low and inflation remains in check. 'Credit card spending growth softened very slightly in the second quarter, but is still up year-over-year and remains strong overall, and debit card spending growth has remained strong and consistent with what we saw in prior quarters. Consumer delinquencies continue to improve from a year ago, and commercial credit performance continues to be relatively strong. Deposit flows for both our consumer and commercial clients were in line with seasonal trends.' Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
JPMorgan Chase Tops Revenue Estimates in Second Quarter
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Tuesday posted better revenue than expected for the second quarter, though its net interest income was just short of estimates. The world's largest bank by market cap reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.96 on revenue that fell 11% year-over-year to $44.9 billion, though both figures exceeded analysts' estimates. Net interest income, a key measure of profitability, rose 2% year-over-year to $23.3 billion, just short of analysts' projections. CFO Jeremy Barnum said in Tuesday's earnings call that "we continue to struggle to see signs of weakness" among the bank's American customers, adding that "the consumer basically seems to be fine." The bank also lifted its full-year net interest income projection by $1 billion from its previous forecast to about $95.5 billion. "The U.S. economy remained resilient in the quarter," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a release. "The finalization of tax reform and potential deregulation are positive for the economic outlook, however, significant risks persist—including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices." JPMorgan shares edged about 0.6% lower shortly after markets opened. They're up about 20% since the start of this year. Last quarter, JPMorgan topped estimates as Dimon warned that tariffs and trade wars were creating "considerable turbulence" that could persist through much of this year. JPMorgan and other banks including Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are kicking off the second-quarter earnings season, with other banks and large companies set to follow later this week. Big bank stocks were boosted last month following the results of the Federal Reserve's annual stress test that evaluates how the institutions would fare in a severe economic downturn or recession. This year's test showed that large banks have large enough capital stored away to weather a hypothetical downturn without government assistance, the Fed said last month. This article has been updated since it was first published to include additional information and reflect more recent share price values. Read the original article on Investopedia
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Large US banks say consumer finances are healthy despite tariffs
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. banking giants said consumers remained in good shape even after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies roiled markets, but executives warned of potential weakness ahead. "The consumer basically seems to be fine," JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said in a call with analysts. The bank set aside $2.85 billion for credit losses in the second quarter, roughly 6.5% less than a year earlier. JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab, Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab and Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab posted second-quarter profits that beat analysts' forecasts, helped by a rebound in dealmaking and resilient consumer spending. "Consumers and businesses remain strong as unemployment remains low and inflation remains in check, credit card spending growth softened very slightly in the second quarter, but is still up year over year," Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts. Higher-than-expected repayments in auto loans and credit cards prompted Wells Fargo to reduce its charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered. The bank also reduced the amount of money set aside to cover potential loan losses. Still, executives also expressed concern about how consumers will weather the impact of higher tariffs on imported goods. U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June amid higher costs for some goods, suggesting tariffs were starting to have an impact on inflation, the Consumer Price Index showed on Tuesday. It increased 0.3% last month, in line with expectations. Citigroup anticipates spending will soften in the second half of the year, CEO Mark Mason told reporters. "Consumer health remains very strong," he said. "We do anticipate further consumer (spending) cooling in the second half as ... tariff effects play through." The bank's credit costs rose to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, mainly from net credit losses in U.S. credit cards.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
US banks see lower recession risk despite tariff fog
JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said the corporate sector had largely come to terms with uncertainty and maintained forward momentum. (JPMorgan pic) NEW YORK : Large US banks reported results that topped estimates Tuesday as executives pointed to American economic resilience and said businesses were adapting to tariff uncertainty. Executives from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup described US consumers as still fundamentally in good shape despite continued risks to the outlook. Both banks now see a lower risk of recession compared with April, when they last reported results. Top officials with the banks also characterised clients as less frazzled by President Donald Trump constantly changing trade policy compared with April, when financial markets were in turmoil. In the last week alone, Trump has threatened deep tariffs on some two dozen countries and spoken of new levies on copper and pharmaceuticals — announcements that many market watchers remain skeptical will be enacted in light of previous tariff pivots by the US president. 'The corporate community … has sort of accepted that they just need to navigate through this and are kind of getting on with it,' JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told reporters on a conference call. Later on a call with Wall Street analysts, Barnum described US consumer spending as still fairly robust. 'We continue to struggle to see signs of weakness,' Barnum said. 'The consumer basically seems to be fine.' Citigroup CFO Mark Mason said businesses had acquired more 'comfort with the uncertainty' compared to earlier in the year. 'The general sentiment has improved a bit if you look at things like the prospect of a recession, that has fallen significantly from what it was earlier in the second quarter,' Mason told reporters on a conference call. Soft landing eyed At JPMorgan, second-quarter profits came in at US$15 billion, down 17% from the year-ago period when results were boosted by a one-time equity item. But that translated into US$4.96 per share, compared with US$4.49 projected by analysts behind higher profits in operating divisions. Revenues were US$44.9 billion, down 11% from the year-ago period. In the most recent quarter, JPMorgan benefited from higher asset management fees, as well as increased trading revenues amid financial market volatility during stretches of the quarter. These aspects helped offset higher technology expenses. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said investment banking activity had started slowly in the quarter, 'but gained momentum as market sentiment improved,' resulting in a seven percent gain. Dimon described the tax cut extensions Trump recently signed into law as 'positive' for the economic outlook, along with 'potential deregulation,' according to a statement. 'However, significant risks persist –- including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices,' Dimon said. 'As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios.' During a conference call with reporters, Dimon said the cautious comments related to possible outcomes and were not a prediction. 'The world is kind of pricing in a soft landing,' he said. 'We've been in that soft landing and it may very well continue.' At Citi, profits came in at US$4.0 billion, up 25% from the year-ago level, while revenues rose 8% to US$21.7 billion. Profits were boosted by higher markets revenue and investment banking fees, among other areas. Mason described the macroeconomic outlook as improved from April, which points to the 'underlying strength' of the US private sector and capital markets. 'We do anticipate further consumer cooling the second half (of 2025) as tariff effects play through,' Mason said, while adding that 'the global economic performance has been quite resilient.' Shares of JPMorgan were decline 0.8%, while Citigroup rose 3.6%.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Big US banks ride out trade policy swings, see brighter outlook for H2 2025
NEW YORK, July 16 — Large US banks reported results that topped estimates yesterday as executives pointed to American economic resilience and said businesses were adapting to tariff uncertainty. Executives from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup described US consumers as still fundamentally in good shape despite continued risks to the outlook. Both banks now see a lower risk of recession compared with April, when they last reported results. Top officials with the banks also characterised clients as less frazzled by President Donald Trump constantly changing trade policy compared with April, when financial markets were in turmoil. In the last week alone, Trump has threatened deep tariffs on some two dozen countries and spoken of new levies on copper and pharmaceuticals — announcements that many market watchers remain sceptical will be enacted in light of previous tariff pivots by the US president. 'The corporate community ... has sort of accepted that they just need to navigate through this and are kind of getting on with it,' JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told reporters on a conference call. Later on a call with Wall Street analysts, Barnum described US consumer spending as still fairly robust. 'We continue to struggle to see signs of weakness,' Barnum said. 'The consumer basically seems to be fine.' Citigroup CFO Mark Mason said businesses had acquired more 'comfort with the uncertainty' compared to earlier in the year. 'The general sentiment has improved a bit if you look at things like the prospect of a recession, that has fallen significantly from what it was earlier in the second quarter,' Mason told reporters on a conference call. Soft landing eyed At JPMorgan, second-quarter profits came in at US$15 billion (RM63.7 billion), down 17 per cent from the year-ago period when results were boosted by a one-time equity item. But that translated into US$4.96 per share, compared with US$4.49 projected by analysts behind higher profits in operating divisions. Revenues were US$44.9 billion, down 11 per cent from the year-ago period. In the most recent quarter, JPMorgan benefited from higher asset management fees, as well as increased trading revenues amid financial market volatility during stretches of the quarter. These aspects helped offset higher technology expenses. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said investment banking activity had started slowly in the quarter, 'but gained momentum as market sentiment improved,' resulting in a seven per cent gain. Dimon described the tax cut extensions Trump recently signed into law as 'positive' for the economic outlook, along with 'potential deregulation,' according to a statement. 'However, significant risks persist — including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices,' Dimon said. 'As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios.' During a conference call with reporters, Dimon said the cautious comments related to possible outcomes and were not a prediction. 'The world is kind of pricing in a soft landing,' he said. 'We've been in that soft landing and it may very well continue.' At Citi, profits came in at US$4.0 billion, up 25 per cent from the year-ago level, while revenues rose eight per cent to US$21.7 billion. Profits were boosted by higher markets revenue and investment banking fees, among other areas. Mason described the macroeconomic outlook as improved from April, which points to the 'underlying strength' of the US private sector and capital markets. 'We do anticipate further consumer cooling the second half (of 2025) as tariff effects play through,' Mason said, while adding that 'the global economic performance has been quite resilient.' Shares of JPMorgan were decline 0.8 per cent, while Citigroup rose 3.6 per cent. — AFP
